Belle's Story
by L. B White
Summary: Belle is a regular doe from Sandleford and Fiver's mate. The story begins when the rabbits arrive at the Down and are forced to search for other does because of Belle's infertility. But things take a turn for the worse after she is sent to look for females and doesn't return...


L. B White Belle's Story 24/10/14

**Synopsis**

**Once, in the countryside of Sandleford, Berkshire, there was a warren named Sandleford Warren. In that warren lived a small rabbit named Fiver, a Seer who lead several others out of the warren after his apocalyptic vision. Eventually, Fiver and his older brother Hazel, led the others to the hill he envisioned, Watership Down. All was well until Fiver's mate, Belle, was sent to survey the area for other does and never returned... **

After their long and trecherous journey across the English countryside, after Cowslip and the river, the rabbits finally reach the hill Fiver envisioned: Watership Down. Hazel, Fiver and Belle were at the front of the group when they reached the foot of the Down. Hazel was skeptical. "Let me get this straight Fiver, you want us to climb this?" he said. "Yes" Fiver answered enthusistically. And with that, the rabbits proceeded up the steep hill. Upon getting to the top, the entire group was overwhelmed with awe. Especially Dandelion. "Come and look you can see the whole world" he shouted in amazement. "O Frith on the hills He made it all for us" Belle exclaimed. "Frith may have made it, but Fiver found it." said Hazel proudly. The rabbits quickly settled in with Hazel as their chief, Watership Down seemed like the perfect place for rabbits wanting a free and easy life. However, with Belle being infertile, the group was forced to scour the local area for other does. Hazel gathered Silver and Belle at the north side of the Down at sunrise to search the local area for females. Meanwhile, Hazel would return to Nuthanger Farm to free the does he encountered their at first. Silver and Belle were gone all day which made Fiver constantly anxious, and even more when Silver returned and she did not...

Belle was walking through a field when she saw another rabbit in the distance, the sun greatly outlined it's fur. Belle seemed to spot it first rather than vice versa and so she decided to play it safe and escape it's line of vision. However, this seemed to fail as it saw Belle and raced towards her. Belle stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the floor. "Please let him be kind..." she whispered under her breath. The other rabbit was a male with dark fur and blue eyes, a very peculiar eye colour for a seemingly wild rabbit. "State your business!" he ordered. Belle found it hard to look him in the eye. "I-it's a long story." she stuttered. "Then tell it to the Council!" he said loudly. Belle was obviously confused. "The council?" she asked. "But, I thought you were wild." she continued. He did not answer but instead glared at her. "Come on, follow!" he said as he turned around. At this point Belle was fed up with the way he was speaking to her. She stopped and sat down. "You have no authority over me which does not give you the right to speak to me the way you are." she said with her head held high. The other rabbit lowered on all four legs as he slightly turned his head. Then, as quick as a flash, he slashed her on the chest with his front paw. Belle then clutched her chest as she lowered her head. The male rabbit then spear tackled her to the floor as he put his head next to her ear. "I am Vervain and this is my territory, you will do what I say as I say without question. Understood?" he said quietly. He then stood over Belle. "Yes... yes, I will obey." she said with a gasp. Her chest was slowly bleeding. "Good, now follow." he ordered.

After a few minutes of walking, Vervain and Belle arrived at an unusually large warren named 'Efrafa'. The two entered the warren and Vervain led Belle to the Council for punishment. Belle was clearly terrified of the others in the warren and even more so upon seeing General Woundwort. Woundwort was in a sort of hole with two other rabbits similar to Vervain either side of him. "Who is this you've brought?" Woundwort said. His voice was hoarse but haunting. "A wild doe wandering near Efrafa, sir, I thought it would be best if you decided what to do with her." said Vervain clearly. "I'm not wild." Belle said to Vervain. "Silence!" shouted Woundwort. And with that, Belle did so. "Now then, where are you from?" Woundwort asked. Belle was looking at the floor, cowering. "Well, at first, Sandleford Warren." she said weakly. "At first?" Woundwort questioned. "Yes, but my friend convinced some of us to leave." she continued. Woundwort proceeded to stand in front of Belle. "Frith and Inle'..." she whispered. "Go on." he said. "We travelled across country to a place named Watership Down." Belle added. "That's the hill a few minutes south of here, sir." Vervain said to the General. Woundwort looked at Belle and noticed the slash mark on her chest. "What's this?" he said quietly as he lifted Belle's head with his front paw. "Oh, that is the result of a little trouble we had in the cornfield, sir." Vervain said. "Hm. Take her above ground with the Hind Quater Mark." said the General. Belle was puzzled. "Hind Quater..." before she could finish Vervain slashed her on her back leg. "Follow!" he commanded. And with that, Belle followed.

Back at Watership Down, everyone was worried about Belle. Hazel had managed to free the does from Nuthanger with some help but it seemed they had a new problem. Fiver was most concerned. "What if she's been killed by a Homba or even worse...?" he said shakily. "Now, calm down Fiver." said Hazel. they were sitting on the edge of the Down watching the sunset. "She's probably just lost." he added. "You know that's completely unlikely. Anyone can see this place from miles away." said Fiver. "I'm going to look for her." he declared but he was stopped by Hazel. "No, don't do anything stupid. If you're that concerned then I will organize a search party for her first thing tomorrow morning." he said with confidence. "OK..." Fiver responded. The next morning, Hazel, Fiver, Silver and Dandelion set out to find Belle, unknowingly taking the same route she did the previous day. Entering a cornfield, Fiver was getting more and more anxious by the minute. "Oh, this is idiotic!" said Silver. "Let's go back and pray she returns." he added. "No! I need to find her." Fiver said raising his voice. "Calm down, we have plenty of time." Hazel said calmly. At that moment, Dandelion spotted a rabbit in the distance. "Look, there! Another rabbit." he said suddenly. "Oh, Belle!" Fiver said racing towards it. "Fiver, wait!" Hazel shouted but Fiver did not listen. "Oh, come on. Let's follow him." said Hazel with a sigh. The group darted after Fiver and the other rabbit knew they were approching. Upon seeing Fiver, it pounced on him, pinning him down. "Let him go!" Hazel shouted. "Please, he means you no harm." he added. The other rabbit looked at Fiver, who was terrified, and then at the group. "Very well." he said as he released Fiver, who then raced behind Silver for protection. "State your business!" he ordered. "We're from a nearby warren, Watership Down, we have come in search of a doe who left and did not return. We did not mean to disturb you" Hazel said as he represented the group. "There was a doe who said she was from Watership Down..." he said. "What colour was her fur?" Fiver asked. "White, with a greyish underbelly, black tipped ears." he answered. "Oh, that's Belle." Fiver said in relief. "Where is she, is she safe?" Dandelion asked. The other rabbit, Vervain, glared at the group. "She is part of our warren now, and that way it will stay." he snapped. Fiver was enraged but did not show it, Hazel looked at him for a second and then back as Vervain. "What warren?" he questioned. Vervain was growing tired of the constant questions. "You'll see for yourselves..." "Follow!" he said. "We're not going anywhere until you return Belle safe and sound." Dandelion demanded. "That's the same type of attitude that made me..." Vervain stopped mid sentence knowing that what it would say next would only enrage the group further. "Do what?" Hazel asked. "If you've hurt her then I'll..." Fiver said. Vervain's patience was growing thin. "Look, you're only acting tough just because you have your friends over here!" he shouted in Fiver's face. Vervain continued. He turned to Hazel. "And you, take your lovable gang of misfits and get off my territory!" he added. "Now, I'm not one for violence but..." he turned to Silver and Dandelion. At that moment, the two shoved Vervain onto the floor and placed their paws on Vervain's chest. Hazel stepped next to them. "Taking a member of our warren is one thing but you will not speak to me or my friends that way." he said authoritively. "Now, you will take us to your warren." "Silver, Dandelion...". at Hazel's command, they took their paws away and Vervain got up and led to the group to Efrafa. "General Woundwort will end you for this!" he said full of rage. "Come on, we're wasting time" Hazel said. "Now move!" he demanded.

Back at Efrafa, Belle was losing her grip on reality. She could not take any more of the tyrannical General or the people in Efrafa, she had met another doe named Hyzenthlay but she too was wasting away. One night, Belle and Hyzenthlay had met up to devise an escape plan, and afterwards proceed back to Watership Down. They met in Hyzenthlay's burrow and talked through the plan with Blackavar, a black rabbit and scarred attempted escapee who would also be taking part. Afterwards, Hyzenthlay was concerned about Blackavar. "They'll kill you for this, Blackavar." she said worringly. "Good thing to. After all, I'd rather die taking a chance like that than rot away in this hellhole." he concluded. The next morning silflay, Hyzenthlay and Belle stuck together until Blackavar showed himself there. Then, Belle gave him a sort of signal by twitching her ear. Then all of a sudden, Blackavar rushed between two Owsla officers on guard only to be tackled to the floor and savagely attacked on the spot. Although Belle was completely against Blackavar seemingly sacrificing himself, she had no choice. As fast as they could, the two does raced away from the Hind Quater Mark only to be caught by Campion and Chevril. "Ah, you're the new doe." he said to Belle. "Yes, you know me." she said as she bravely asnwered back. "You will soon learn that there is no escape from Efrafa..." he said darkly. "Belle, you will follow Campion and myself back to the Council so as to see the punishment." "Hyzenthlay, follow!" said Chevril. Campion and Chevril took the two does in front of the Council who decided that Hyzenthlay would be lightly scarred to set an example. Afterwards, Belle made no attempt to escape.

As planned, Vervain took Silver, Hazel, Fiver and Dandelion to see General Woundwort about Belle. Fiver was worried about her safety and even more so when he met Woundwort. As usual, Hazel represented the group and the warren whilst talking with The General. "We would like to ask about a new doe of yours named Belle." Hazel said clearly. "Yes, she's here. But she is not leaving." Woundwort replied fiercely. Fiver went to step forward but was stopped by Silver who shook his head at Fiver. "Why not?" Hazel asked. "You've got enough does as it is, and not to mention she's my brother's mate." he continued. Woundwort considered this but dissmissed it moments later. "It dosen't matter how many does we have, she is a part of our warren and that's the way it will stay." Woundwort concluded. Fiver pleaded. "Oh, please just give her back to me. She's the only doe who understands me." he asked with a cry. Hazel stepped next to him. "Come on, Fiver. He's not accepting anything." he said as he looked at Woundwort. "Now leave my warren!" Woundwort thundered. "With pleasure!" Dandelion responded as the group left Efrafa. As the four walked away from the warren, Fiver was upset but determined to get Belle back. "Couldn't we storm the warren? Take her by force?" he said with a cry. Silver dissmissed the idea immediatley. "What, storm that place? Don't be stupid. Have you seen the size of it?" he said to Fiver. Dandelion stepped in. "Oh, we'll think of something." Dandelion said proudly. Back at the warren, Hazel gathered everyone at the beech hanger to think of a plan to retrieve Belle from Efrafa. "First of all, let's break it down." Hazel said. "They're way too big to just stand and fight." Fiver said. "Thier chief is a brute, he could kill us all." Bigwig added. "Yes, keep going." Hazel was attempting to goad on ideas. "We could infiltrate Efrafa." said Silver. At that moment, their was a murmur of agreement withing the group. "Yes, that could work..." Hazel whispered. "Now that we all agree on that, we need to decide who..." pondered Fiver. "Well, what about me?" Bigwig said as he stepped forward. "I've got it!" said Hazel loudly. "What?" asked Bigwig. "You could ask to join their Owsla. You've been an officer before." he said. "Hm, sounds reasonable. But what makes you think that Woundwort will let me?" Bigwig asked. Hazel looked at Bigwig, "Well, you'll just have to convince him." he said with a sigh.

The next time Belle saw Hyzenthlay, she went tharn. Hyzenthlay's body was scarred and one of her ears limp. "Frith and Inle'! What did they do to you!?" exclaimed Belle. "I'm fine, really..." Hyzenthlay replied weakly. Belle was horrified to see her newfound friend in such a state. "That does it, we can't stay here any longer." she declared. Hyzenthlay limped next to Belle. "Please, don't do anything stupid." she pleaded. "I won't, but I know my friends will try and save us." she replied hopefully. As planned, Bigwig posed as a stranger to Efrafa and the local area so as to join Efrafa's Owsla. He entered the Efrafan Council and asked General Woundwort to join his Owsla. Campion brought Bigwig to Woundwort. "What's your name?" the General asked Bigwig. "Bigwig." he responded plainly. "Bigwig, sir!" Campion was quick to correct Bigwig. "I'm here to join your Owsla." he added. "Is there anything wrong with wanting to join?" he asked. "I'll ask the questions!" Woundwort snapped as he clawed the ground. "What can you do?" the General questioned in a quieter tone. Bigwig shuffled across from Campion. "Well, sir, I can run. And I can fight." "I've been an officer in an Owsla before." he said proudly. "Hm, very well... You can start tomorrow." Woundwort accepted Bigwig onto the Owsla. "You'll be serving alongside Captain Campion." he continued as he gestured to Campion. "Oh, and you'll have a free selection of a doe. You're not an Owsla officer for nothing." Woundwort added with a slight laugh. "Hm, well thank you." Bigwig kindly responded. He turned to leave. "Oh, and one other thing. You'll be identified by your Mark." the General said suddenly. At that instant, Campion slashed Bigwig on his hind leg, meaning that Bigwig was in charge of he Hind Quater Mark. The same as Belle...


End file.
